We may have had the hottest day on record for the last hundred years in Cape Town last week, but change is definitely in the air. The mornings now have a distinct chill, which has me reaching for my cardie. As the season turns, I’m starting to thinks stews, bakes and pies.

A friend recently remarked that I am very fond of gluten. I’d never particularly given it any thought, but she’s quite right. I love carbs. Period. And top of my list is wheat. Pasta, bread, pastry… Wave these in front of me and I’m not responsible for what happens next. Frightfully unfashionable in a world where seemingly everybody is banting. […]

I sometimes worry about the amount of time I spend contemplating totally pointless things. Like wondering what animal I would prefer to have with me if I were marooned, Robinson Crusoe-style, and had to fend for myself for the rest of time. The answer is pig. I simply cannot think of any meat more versatile than pork. Think bacon, German […]

I have a thing for sweet with meat – it’s a particularly South African thing. Take sweet potatoes. They aren’t sweet enough the way nature made them. Oh no, we have to add truckloads of butter and sugar, and roast them slowly to glistening, treacly perfection. So I’m constanty looking for new sweet-with-meat combinations. My latest obsession is fennel. […]

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About merlot and me

A crazy black cat who reckons rare roast beef is an essential food group. A woman obsessed with food and wine. That’s Merlot and me. Together we cook up a storm in our cosy (read small) Cape Town kitchen. More about us...